Nora

R

Released May 4, 2001

1 hr. 46 min.

Drama

List

64%

11 Reviews

Tomatometer

38%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

It is love at first sight when raffish young writer James Joyce (Ewan McGregor) meets the simple barmaid Nora Barnacle (Susan Lynch) for the first time. The couple leave Ireland and set up home in Trieste where their passionate and tempestuous life together begins. Joyce is tormented by a fear that his work will never be published, but, Nora's simplicity and humor anchor his instability and the couple's relationship is bonded by a direct, deep sexual love.

Read More

Read Less

Prime Video

Watch Nora with a subscription on Prime Video.

simon b

What is Joyce remembered for? His writing, surely. Yet this film (as far as I watched - about three-quarters) hardly touched on this despite Joyce being rated as one of the 20th century's greatest writers. I hoped to discover the man behind the writing yet the film seem obsessed with his personal/sexual life. Perhaps I should have clung on until the end but the film did not engage me sufficiently.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A film worth seeing just for the performance of Susan Lynch as Nora.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A film about James Joyce and his passionate and troubled relationship with his muse Nora Barnacle through their times in Dublin and Italy. The characters are too exaggerated and the screenplay in general is second rate. The film is dull and has little going for it, apart from a good photography. For a film built around sexual tension and chemistry, this film sure lacks it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

James Joyce and Nora Barnacle fall in love, but societal pressures and sexual obsession complicate their relationship. When I write the one-sentence plot summary in my reviews, I try to find the central conflict; however, finding the central conflict, what keeps this film interesting, is remarkably difficult, and I had difficulty putting my finger on what keeps these lovers apart. At times it is societal pressures about sex and sexuality, and at times the film focuses on Joyce's jealousy, his feeling that it is impossible to truly know Nora sexually. What's worse is that by the end of the film, I didn't see the central conflicts coming to any kind of resolution. What adjustments do these characters make in order to function together? What should we learn from this story? I think the reason I enjoyed this film a little bit is the insight into Joyce's work. We see scenes that are reminiscent of "The Dead," "Araby," and <i>Ulysses</i>. I didn't know that Nora was the inspiration for each of these works, so I guess I learned something. Overall, this isn't a complete film because the conflict isn't resolved and I think one needs to be intimately familiar with Joyce's writing in order to understand it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Not enough exploration or explanation. You don't quite ever understand why this couple is together or James Joyce's purpose for writing. I wanted more.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Watched this today and its quite possible my new least favorite movie ever. Little better than a soft core porn with depressing dialogue. Joyce is abusive and seems to be a little schizophrenic, Nora is portrayed not as a feminist but more like a doormat who has occasional outbursts of anger. Any discussion of his writing is limited. The characters had no depth, so little fact that even adding about an hour of grotesque, hairy 1920s sexual congress could not hide. And at the end after all this chaos, we are assured they strolled happily into the sunset, living out the rest of their lives together. I would give this movie -5 if that was possible, it was an utter disaster

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Pat Murphy

Director

Ewan McGregor

James Joyce

Susan Lynch

Nora Barnacle

Peter McDonald

Stanislaus Joyce

Aedin Moloney

Eva Joyce

Roberto Citran

Roberto Prezioso

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

70%

81%

Solomon and Gaenor

81%

51%

The Business of Strangers

85%

74%

Morvern Callar

54%

39%

The Golden Bowl

93%

81%

In the Bedroom

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Globe and Mail

Rated: 2.5/4

Apr 25, 2003

Full Review

Geoff Pevere

Toronto Star

Lynch manages to make Nora's temperamental tempestuousness not only credible and admirable, but deeply alluring.

Jun 1, 2001

Full Review

Kevin Maynard

Mr. Showbiz

A convincing portrait of the intersection between creative genius and crazy, all-consuming love.

May 21, 2001

Full Review

Carol Cling

Las Vegas Review-Journal

Intense performances, but a literal literary downer.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 18, 2006

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Aug 9, 2005

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Susan Lynch is a bold and daring Nora.

Rated: C+

Jul 25, 2001

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

It is love at first sight when raffish young writer James Joyce (Ewan McGregor) meets the simple barmaid Nora Barnacle (Susan Lynch) for the first time. The couple leave Ireland and set up home in Trieste where their passionate and tempestuous life together begins. Joyce is tormented by a fear that his work will never be published, but, Nora's simplicity and humor anchor his instability and the couple's relationship is bonded by a direct, deep sexual love.

Director: Pat Murphy
Executive Producer: Guy Collins
Screenwriter: Brenda Maddox, Pat Murphy, Gerard Stembridge
Production Co: Natural Nylon Entertainment
Rating: R (Some Strong Sexuality|Related Dialogue)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English (United Kingdom)
Release Date (Theaters): May 4, 2001, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 2, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $12.3K
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Most Popular at Home Now